 |
Thought for the Day
|
As written at
Prasanthi Nilayam
Source: Radio Sai
Global Harmony
Thought for the Day Archive
January 2005
January 1, 2005
Everyone expects the new year to confer peace,
happiness and prosperity. But, this day too is like any other. The
experience of pleasure or pain depends upon one's actions.
Meritorious deeds will not confer misery, and sinful deeds cannot
give happiness. One is bound to face the consequences of one's
actions. But one treats pleasure and pain alike when one becomes the
recipient of God's grace. God's grace destroys mountains of sins and
confers peace.
January 2, 2005
The tree is a broad spread of leaf and flower,
fruit and green. It is a fanned out system of trunk, branches and
twigs. All this has grown out of one single tiny seed! Similarly,
contemplate for a while on the magnificent multitude of life with
all its rich variety; the strong and the weak, hunter and prey,
distressed and delighted - all this infinite variety of created
beings have come out of and have at their core, the seed of
divinity. When you visualize this Immanent Divinity; you become
humble, wise, and full of love.
January 3, 2005
The spark of Love in you has to be
cherished and nourished; then, every being will be God, every act
will be Divine and every reaction you get from the outside world
will be charged with love and sweetened with that nectar. When you
love the God in all beings, He responds with love. Love God, though
tribulation may be your lot, love Him though you are refused and
rebuked; for, it is only in the crucible of travail that the metal
is purified and cleared of blemish.
January 4, 2005
Do not get
attached to this evanescent body; utilize it as an instrument.
Consider yourself as being separate from the body created out of the
conjunction of the five elements. Know yourself to be the
indestructible Atma. The body is the root cause of all grief and
misery. Make the body obey your will. Contemplate on the truth that
the body and the Atma are separate. This practice is indispensable
for realizing the truth of one's Divinity.
January 5, 2005
Every act done
with the consciousness of the body is bound to be egoistic. Selfless
service can never be accomplished while being immersed in body
consciousness. Consciousness of Deva (God) instead of Deha (body)
will bring forth the splendour of Prema (Divine Love) from within
the heart. With this idea as the inspiration and guide, man can
achieve much good. We must cultivate the attitude that everything is
as per God's will, that all is His Leela (Divine sport).
January 6, 2005
The sadhaka
(spiritual aspirant) must be vigilant not to lose his temper on
trivial and petty matters, for that will retard his progress. Anger
must be sublimated by systematic effort. One must resist the impulse
to enter into discussions and arguments, for this breeds a spirit of
rivalry and leads one towards feelings of anger and vengeance. Anger
is at the root of all wrong behaviour. Hence, cultivate love towards
all beings and thus keep undesirable habits and tendencies at bay.
January 7, 2005 In the waking
state and in the dream state, the triune of God, the individual and
the world appear to be real. But, during the state of deep sleep,
the mind is in abeyance and these three entities do not exist. This
fact is within the experience of all. In the state of deep sleep,
one is totally unaware of one's name, form, status etc. But, on
waking, one realizes that the 'I', of which one is conscious in the
waking state, was present during deep sleep too. The purpose of all
spiritual disciplines is to discover the nature of the 'I' that is
experienced in all the states of experience - waking, dream and deep
sleep.
January 8, 2005 A 'Manishi'
(ordinary man) gets transformed into a 'Maharishi' by engaging in
selfless service. Truly speaking, the merit that can be obtained
from service cannot be acquired even by the practice of rigorous
austerities. Service brings human beings closer to each other and
promotes affection and friendship. Without this feeling of
friendship and love towards one's fellowmen, one cannot attain
intimacy with the Lord. Install in your heart the feeling that the
service you render to your fellowmen is service to God.
January 9, 2005 The pilgrim
must traverse and overstep the vast wastelands of worldly desires,
overcome the thick slushy overgrowths of anger and hate, and
negotiate the cliffs of ego and malice so that he can relax on the
lush green pastures of harmony and love. Having thus become master
of his inner foes, he must rest in the silence of his own heart,
with all the agitations of his inner realm stilled. When the seeker
is fixed thus in the undisturbed calm of his deepest consciousness,
the flame of awakening lights itself. At that moment, the seeker
realizes that he is one with Universe, that he is the Indivisible
Brahman.
January 10, 2005 The proof of
rain is in the wetness of the ground. Likewise, the proof of true
devotion is in the peace of mind that the aspirant has been able to
attain - the peace that protects him against the onslaught of
failures and disappointments, the stillness of mind which is not
agitated by loss and dishonour or perturbed by anger, jealousy and
other lower passions. Know that you are the embodiment of that
peace. Whoever has the determination, discrimination, steadfastness
and the earnestness to reach the goal will reach it.
January 11, 2005 Sports and
games must not be considered as mere worldly activity. They teach us
many moral and spiritual principles. A true student is one who
achieves excellence in physical, mental and spiritual fields. One
should not strive for physical strength and happiness alone. One
should strive hard for the control of the mind. One who becomes a
slave to the mind is bound to become weak, however powerful one may
be physically. The power of the mind is matchless. It is from the
mind that the most precious virtues originate. If human values are
lost, life becomes worthless. Values can neither be acquired by mere
study of sacred texts nor can they be passed on by learned
preceptors. They originate from within. When we develop noble
thoughts and follow the path of truth in our daily life, human
values will blossom in us and protect us under all circumstances.
January 12, 2005 The river
strives, yearns and struggles to merge with the sea from which it
has come. It has that consummation ever in its consciousness. It
attempts to make itself pure and pellucid so that it may be welcomed
by its source. It overcomes every obstacle of terrain in order to
journey successfully towards its goal. Man too must utilize all the
physical, mental, intellectual and moral endowments that God has
granted him so that he may journey to the goal of Realization.
January 13, 2005 What God
loves most are the flowers that blossom on the tree of man's own
life, fed and fostered by his own skill and sincerity. They are the
flowers of virtues grown in the garden of his heart. Of these, the
virtue of non-violence is most important. It involves much more than
abstaining from harming living beings. One should desist from
causing pain to any living being, not only in deed, but also in word
and thought. One should not entertain any idea of hurting or
humiliating another.
January 14, 2005 Makara
Sankranthi marks the movement of the Sun from the southern horizon
to the northern horizon. This northward movement of the Sun has
immense spiritual significance. The north is symbolised by
Himaachala. Hima means snow. It is pure, untainted and soothingly
cool. All these endow it with the quality of Prashanthi (perfect
peace). Achala means that which is steady and unshakeable.
Himaachala does not refer to the physical Himalayan mountains. It
represents that which is cool, peaceful and steady. From this day
the Sun is said to move towards such a state. The Sun symbolises the
vision of man. The northward movement of the Sun is a call to human
beings to turn their vision towards that which is cool, peaceful and
unchanging, i.e. towards the divinity within.
January 15, 2005
Love is inherent in man, but like a seed that
has to be nourished by water, love in man has to be fostered by
dedicated service. Love is a sacred quality. Love is like nectar. A
man who has tasted the sweetness of Divine Love will not desire
anything else in the world. Life must be a constant manifestation of
love. Nowadays, love is expressed in a constricted, selfish manner.
It needs to be expressed in the form of service to society. Thereby
love becomes a reciprocal, ever-widening experience.
January 16, 2005 Let the petty
wishes for which you now approach God be fulfilled or not, let the
plans for promotion and progress which you place before God be
realised or not; these are not so important after all. The primary
aim should be to become masters of yourselves, to hold intimate and
constant communion with the Divine that is in you as well as in the
Universe of which you are a part. Develop this attitude and welcome
disappointments, for they toughen you and test your fortitude.
January 17, 2005 Service in
all its forms is primarily a spiritual discipline. Without the
inspiration given by that attitude, the urge to serve is bound to
ebb and grow dry, or it may meander into pride and pomp. Just
reflect for a moment: Are you serving God? Or, is God serving
through you? When you offer milk to a hungry child, or a blanket to
a shivering brother on the pavement, you are but placing a gift of
God in a repository of the Divine Principle. God serves and He
allows you to claim that you have served! Without His will, not even
a blade of grass can quiver. Fill every moment with gratitude to the
Giver and Recipient of all gifts.
January 18, 2005 When an
individual seeks fulfillment outside himself, he fails; if he seeks
it within himself, he is successful in obtaining it. The divine
principle within us is always accessible and always responsive. Pain
is felt only as long as attachment or aversion to outer forms
remains. Ultimate relief from pain can come only by the effacement
of the ego, by the elimination of that which reacts to one thing as
pain and to another as pleasure, and whose memory and conditioning
sustains the recognition of the dualities of joy and grief.
January 19, 2005 The Lord
created everything in the universe, but kept nothing for Himself.
Every creature has been given complete freedom to enjoy anything one
desires. But there is one limitation. For every action there is a
corresponding reaction. You are free to act as you please, subject
to this rule. If you misuse the freedom given to you and indulge in
wrongful deeds, the consequences too are bound to be bad. These
results are not caused by God. The Lord does not inflict harm on
anyone. Everything that happens is the consequence of one's own
thoughts and actions.
January 20, 2005 If you earn
the Grace of the Lord, even the decrees of destiny can be overcome.
There are certain drugs that come with expiry dates, beyond which
the drug loses its efficacy. The drug may still be sealed in the
bottle but it will no longer be effective after that date.
Similarly, the Lord's Grace can make decrees of destiny inoperable.
Just as you do not feel the severe pain in your body when the doctor
administers an injection of morphine, the Grace of God allows you to
endure difficulties without having to undergo the suffering.
January 21, 2005 One who is
engaged in the battle of life needs the armour of spirituality. With
this invincible armour he can face any situation. If instead of
donning this spiritual armour, he cloaks himself in ignorance, he
will be haunted by fear and anxiety. As long as rice is covered by
husk it cannot be consumed. Likewise, man cannot experience true
bliss until he gets rid of the cloak of ignorance. Man must hence
develop the quality of forbearance. Through forbearance and
spiritual practices, gradually the shackles of tendencies resulting
from past actions can be broken.
January 22, 2005 People
complain of grief, sorrow and distress. These are but reactions to
the loss of something that one already possesses, or the failure to
gain something that is desired. Therefore, the only way to escape
sorrow is to conquer the desire for the illusory. See the world as
God. That vision will scotch desire. When one's desire is focused on
God, success is assured and every step contributes to the
achievement of Divine Bliss.
January 23, 2005
The Lord is present in every heart. The
liberated person, who has had the vision of his Atma (Inner Self),
will never be affected by sorrow; sorrow can never hold sway over
him. The Atma is in the ant as well as in the elephant, in the
tiniest atom as well as in the air around us. The seeker must seek
within to find out the origins of the agitations of the mind. This
process will itself rid the mind of its ceaseless activity that
makes it doubt and argue, and stabilize the seeker in the
omnipresent Universal Consciousness.
January 24, 2005 All
relationships are incidental and temporary. Hence, one must perform
one's duties in the world with detachment. Even when involved in
worldly life, one has to recognise the relationships between mother
and son, husband and wife, brother and sister etc., as being
impermanent. Separation is inevitable sooner or later. But, between
man and God there can never be any separation. Even if you forget
God, He will not forget you. Therefore, develop faith in God and
yearn for His Love.
January 25, 2005 The ego brings wave after wave of wants and
wishes before your attention, and tempts you to attempt to satisfy
them. This is a never-ending circle. So try to reduce your wants and
expand the range of your love in order to be free from the coils of
your ego. Living involves many confrontations, companionships,
separations, conflicts and neglects. We have to give up both the
types of contacts - the repugnant and the pleasant. Attach yourself
to God and the delusion of the world will automatically fall off.
January 26, 2005
God's hands, feet, face, eyes etc., are
compared to a lotus in the scriptures. What is its significance? The
lotus plant is born in slush. Without slush and water, the lotus
cannot survive even for a minute. Nevertheless, the lotus remains
pure untouched by both the slush and the water. Similarly, man
should try to remain untouched by the mire of Samskaras (past
tendencies) or by the water of Samsara, the world in which he lives.
January 27, 2005 God's heart
is said to be softer than butter. Yet, however soft the butter may
be, it needs warmth to melt. Similarly, in order to melt the
compassionate heart of the Lord, the devotee should develop the
required warmth by his yearning and sadhana (spiritual discipline).
He should have intense longing for His mercy and grace. When the
child cries, will the mother tarry, assessing or analyzing the tune
of the cry? Similarly, it is enough if you pray to God in all
earnestness. That burning desire is the only sadhana that easily
melts and moves the Lord's heart.
January 28, 2005 In all the
efforts that you make, if you place your trust in a Higher Power,
the work becomes easy. This reliance on the Lord, the source of all
power, results out of one's intense devotion. When you travel by
train, you only have to purchase the ticket, enter the right train
and take a seat, leaving the rest to the engine. So too, put your
trust in the Lord and carry on to the best of your ability. Have
faith in the Lord and His Grace. Try to earn it using the
intelligence and the discrimination He has endowed you with.
January 29, 2005 Surrender the
ego, dedicate every moment and every act to Him who has assured
mankind that He will ensure liberation from pain and evil. When
asked where God is, people point towards the sky or to some far and
distant region; no wonder then that He does not manifest Himself!
Realize that He is in you, with you, behind you and all around you;
and He can be seen and felt everywhere. Realize also that He is
all-merciful, eager and anxious to fulfill your prayers, if they
arise from a pure heart.
January 30, 2005 The joy you
seek and the Self-realization you aim at are both within you. They
cannot be found in the external world. This condition is similar to
that of a person who begs for food on the street even though there
are sweets and delicacies in his own home. You imagine that the
world and its objects confer happiness on you. This is an illusion
created by your mind. It is only when you follow the discriminating
intellect that you will be able to enjoy true peace and joy.
January 31, 2005 The greatest
sin man commits is to forget his Divinity. Failing to recognise his
true nature, he considers himself as a separate individual and fills
his mind with desire and hatred. We should not look upon human
existence as something pitiful or weak and powerless. Man is the
embodiment of the Divine; he is Being-Awareness-Bliss. The Divine in
him is always radiating light and bliss. However, because of the
veil of bad thoughts that covers his mind, he is unable to
experience this bliss. |
